Читать книгу 20 Something Manifesto - Christine Hassler - Страница 17

I think about where I’m going a lot as a twenty something. I wonder, what will my life look like in six months? A year? Five years? I think about the choices I’m making. I feel paralyzed by all the options I have regarding decisions I have to make. I question whether or not I’m “doing enough.” I compare my life to those of others, wondering if I might be “missing something” that will help me “get somewhere” quicker or with more meaning. I wonder if I really am making valuable connections and networks that will help shape my future career.

Working for a leadership institute, I hear amazing women tell their career success stories every day. While they’re inspiring and full of amazing advice, it’s somewhat terrifying to think about all the things I’m supposed to be doing in order to “get somewhere” successful: “Follow your passions, live your dreams, take risks, network with the right people, find mentors, be financially responsible, volunteer, work, think about or go to grad school, fall in love, and maintain personal well-being, mental health, and nutrition.” When is there time to just be and enjoy, especially when the cycle is doing, going, sleeping, eating, networking? Then there are fears that are largely irrational, and that I know I can and will overcome, but still stick inside my head. My fears come from constantly wondering whether or not what I’m doing with my twenty-something years, while okay, is really me. Maybe I’m not doing the “right” things that are leading me where I think I might want to or should go. The tricky part is quieting the fear, trusting the process in a competitive world, getting ahead, and being patient.

I liken the twenty-something years to the yellow brick road. Possibility lies ahead. There are twists and turns that can throw you backward, make you think differently, or give you insight and perspective into what it is you might really want and strive for. You never really know where the road is going to lead. You make choices that are hard to make because you never know if they are “right,” but you can’t turn back. And it’s scary.

And so far my twenty-something years have been, well, kind of ordinary. I had some expectation that they would be more exciting, more revealing, or more inspiring. But they haven’t been . . . so I’ve learned that I have to laugh at life, no matter how ordinary it is, and constantly look for opportunities to learn.